1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data and software model comparison. Further, the present invention relates to methods and systems for comparing differences between different model types.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modem technical development is almost always based on using certain modeling techniques. Models may be either created from scratch and serve as design for a future implementation or may be extracted from an existing system to help understand and modify it. They may also originate as a combination of the two, for instance in the case when an “as is” model is first used to describe an existing system and then modified to describe a “to be” system.
As sometimes different companies or different teams come with models meant to describe the same reality, it becomes necessary to compare them. A comparison may reveal both the common elements and the differences between two models. This type of comparison and the detailed analysis related to it is referred to herein as “gap analysis.”
Gap analysis does not necessarily may occur between the same type of models or between different types of models. The models are considered as being of the same type if they are based on the same metamodel and of different types if they have different metamodels. For instance two relational database schemas have the same type (but potentially different objects), while relational and hierarchical database schemas are of different types. Even when the two models are of different types a comparison is possible, as certain matches between them could be achieved. For instance, a relational table (which appears in a relational database schema) may be matched to a hierarchical record (which appears in the hierarchical schema).
Thus, there remains a need for methods and systems for comparing models even where model type differs, both for models having different metamodels and same metamodels.